An Answer
by myBlueprints
Summary: Abbie starts what she thinks is a silly game, only to be surprised by Ichabod's answer. She's been pretending not to have feelings for him, because she thought he only saw her as a friend.


There are days, when they return to the Archives and they do stupid senseless things to unwind. Abbie never really asks what he wants to do, not really, she always assumes he'll do whatever she comes up with. She has yet to be proved wrong. Tonight, she hasn't chosen something for them to do, but she has stumbled on an interesting quiz on the internet. She figures two things; one, they could simply gather the belongings they left there and go home or two, they could stay a little longer and unwind. The first option is nearly her choice, but then Ichabod takes a seat, making himself very comfortable and her choice is made for her. By him. Shrugging to herself, she takes the seat opposite him, the table sitting between them as always.

'What would be worse?' she reads aloud, holding her cell phone in the palm of her hand. She's read the first question (only), and because she just knows what his answer will be, she looks at him carefully, wanting to catch the expression he will make when he hears the question.

He leans forward in his chair, looking at her the way she is looking at him, 'It would be undoubtedly better if I knew what my options were.'

Abbie can't resist rolling her eyes, 'Let me finish.'

'Proceed,' he nods in the mocking way he does when she's concerned.

'Okay, so I already know your answer to this, but I'm going to ask anyway.' It's actually a no brainer, Abbie thinks, because Crane is Crane, without stuttering, she'd bet her life on what his answer will be. Ichabod only pushes his left eyebrow up a fraction to challenge her.

'Would it be worse if you couldn't touch me or if you couldn't talk to me?' Reading the question out loud makes her realise how silly it is. It's not like they are more than friends...

He doesn't give her an answer immediately, neither does his face change a bit. Abbie produces a tiny smirk, she knows what he's doing, he wants her to think that he's thinking about his options. It's nonsense, he isn't thinking about his options, because there are no options, there's only one option.

'I'm still waiting,' she says after a lot more seconds have passed and he still hasn't said anything.

'I'm curious,' he frowns, leaning back only slightly, 'You said you know my response?'

'I'm the one asking the questions Crane,' Abbie says to him. She lets the phone slip out of her hand onto the table, at the same time, Ichabod leans back in his chair, as though aiming to get a distant view of her.

'What would the circumstances be?' he asks, 'Would the world be ending? Would it be from now until the rest of our lives?'

'I don't know,' she laughs a little, 'I guess in general. Like, think right now, if you were told you couldn't talk to me or touch me, what would upset you more?'

Ichabod clears his throat quietly, 'I cherish deeply how we talk-' Immediately, Abbie's face lights up in triumph and then she announces her victory, 'Aha! I knew it,' she exclaims throwing a tiny fist in the air, 'I can't imagine you not saying anything.'

'However,' Ichabod continues as though she didn't interrupt him, only the tone of his voice softer than before. The single word makes Abbie pause, freeze even.

'I can't bare to imagine the torture that would arise from the inability to place my hands upon you.'

Abbie doesn't know what to say to that. They barely touch on a normal basis, how is it that he can't imagine not touching her? What does that mean? She understands that he must miss human touch, since Katrina is no more, but really?

'What?' she asks, wishing to understand what he means.

'Not being able to touch you, would be worse,' he tells her calmly. He looks so sure of what he's said that she has no reason to doubt him. Honestly, she doesn't doubt him, but she does suddenly doubt the silliness of the quiz.

'Right,' she gathers the phone to her hastily, 'Um...this was stupid. We should get going anyway.'

He leans forward again, 'Does my answer, my honesty make you uncomfortable?'

She shakes her head, 'I just expected you to choose talking.' What she wants to say is, she didn't know he was ready to move on from Katrina. She always thought he would forever see her as the friend who guided him through the new world. That's the reason she's kept her feelings under control, even now. She never thought his feelings for her changed. Apparently, she's been wrong in her thinking.

'You, as well as I, know that we can communicate without uttering a single word,' he starts to say as he starts getting up from his chair, 'Answer me this...Would it be better to comfort you in a distressing moment with many words or to feel that comfort in a loving embrace?' He walks around the table to her side, continuing to speak, 'Would you rather I offer you my hand when you are down or use words to encourage you to get up?' He stops walking when he gets behind her, and then bends low to level his mouth to her ear.

'Is it better to hear the words, 'I love you' from my lips then to have me prove it to you?'

Abbie's breath catches in her throat. Slowly, as though she's afraid of what she'll find behind her, she turns her head in the direction of his mouth. He waits until her eyes are meeting his, then he asks in a whisper, 'And so my final question to you Miss Mills...if you were given the choice, would you spend all eternity simply talking to me?' To add effect to the question, he raises a brow and as an extra, he smiles smugly. As an answer, Abbie leans her head towards his (thankfully he leans the little way that is left) and plants her lips upon his. His response is instant, fully embracing the treat that is presented to him. They kiss gently and furiously at the same time, each action representing the different feelings they have on the matter. The thrill of finally having found each other, and the tenderness of it being their very first kiss.

She's the one who draws back, a small victorious smile forming on her lips, 'We'll learn sign language,' she says to him. Then talking won't be necessary at all.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm very curious to know, if you had to choose something for you and your significant other, what would it be? I wonder if anyone would go for talking? I think talking is important. Right?<strong>


End file.
